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'I remember watching him in the 2015 World Cup and at one stage he was going to end up in Row K'
By Liam Heagney
Eddie Jones has hailed Jonny May’s decisive two-try burst for England against Ireland, describing the winger as a player transformed from how he looked under previous coach Stuart Lancaster. May scored six tries in 19 appearances under Lancaster at the start of his Test career.
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However, his strike rate and importance to England has come on leaps and bounds under Jones, the 30-year-old scoring 25 tries in 40 matches, and his latest two arriving against the Irish during a devastating four-minute first-half spell.
He won an Owen Farrell aerial bomb against Hugo Keenan, collecting a catch and scoring to put his side 5-0 ahead on 17 minutes, and he was even more clinical four minutes later after Ireland lost lineout possession inside the England 22.
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The ball was quickly moved across the backline to May, who sweetly gave Chris Farrell the slip before kicking ahead and regathering to score the try that was converted to put England in a dominant position they never relinquished, Jones side eventually going on to comfortably lead 18-0 before Ireland managed a late consolation to cut the final gap to eleven points.
“He is right there,” said Jones when asked how good May was. “He’s 30 and he is still improving every aspect of his game. He is such a dedicated trainer and he is obsessed by getting better.
A bruising encounter #EnglandRugby #ENGvsIRL #AutumnNationsCup pic.twitter.com/O9vErWqKEd
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“He is a great role model for all the players in the team. When you consider the player he was… I remember watching him in the 2015 World Cup and at one stage he was going to end up in Row K. Now he is a serious finisher.”
May is now second in the all-time England try-scoring list alongside World Cup winners Ben Cohen and Will Greenwood on 31, with only Rory Underwood in front.
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Asked what impressed him most about the victory over Ireland which puts England in pole position to reach the Nations Cup final, Jones added: “The manner of the win, that we controlled most of the game. We went in there with certain things we wanted to take away and certain things we wanted to impose and for the best part of the game we did that.
“We got a little bit loose and we got a run of penalties against us in the second half but that just shows how much more we have got in us.”
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